Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff

Tcherniakovka

Also known as: Tchernakowka, Chernakovka

Places · Residences
Show in diary 15 mentions

Overview

The Babanine family house and estate (Marie's maternal grandfather Stepan Babanine, «grand-papa», and later his son Alexandre) in the Poltava region of Ukraine, where Marie spent her earliest childhood: «notre ancien nid, où chaque homme, chaque objet ont une histoire pour moi» (066/1876-10-06). It was not the Bashkirtseff (paternal) property, which was Gavronzi; her mother's family lived here: «venir habiter chez grand-papa à Tcherniakovka» (000/000-04). The name may derive from "chornyi" (black/dark in Ukrainian/Russian), suggesting a dark feature of the landscape. The suffix -ovka indicates a village or estate. In the diary it is still the Babanine seat in 1876 (Marie visits it on 4-6 October 1876 and still has her great-aunt Vassilissa Babanine living there, 066/1876-10-06); the remark in 018/1874-04-13 on its lost «grandeurs passées» is grand-papa's, not a statement about the family losing the estate.

Relevance to Marie

Tcherniakovka carries dual significance for Marie:

  • Negative: represents the provincial ways she rejects in her pursuit of Parisian sophistication
  • Nostalgic: the lost family grandeur she never knew, romanticized through grand-papa's stories ("papa" in 018/1874-04-13 is Stepan Babanine)
  • Economic: part of the Ukrainian world she left as a child but which remained economically vital

Context

  • Location: Poltava governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine)
  • Purpose: Babanine family estate and house, source of revenue for the family
  • Management (1876): by her uncle Alexandre, whom Marie goes to confront over the accounts (066/1876-10-04 to 06; see the RSR note on 066/1876-10-06)

Diary References

Preface (Carnet 000)

  • 000-04, 000-05: Nadine Martinoff goes to live with grand-papa at Tcherniakovka; after Romanoff's marriage to Nadine the family «revint à Tcherniakovka»

1873

  • March 3: Baba/nostalgia scene - evokes Marie's complex relationship with the family past

1874

  • March 6: Marie criticizes the family for doing party preparations themselves like "domesticite de Tcherniakovka" (servants from Tcherniakovka) instead of hiring London House professionals
  • April 13: Papa reminisces about its past glories: "papa raconte les grandeurs passees de Tcherniakovka, pourquoi ce n'est plus? Comme je l'aimerais" (papa tells of the past grandeurs of Tcherniakovka, why is it no more? How I would love it)
  • April 23: The parrot-costume fantasy - further exploration of Marie's romanticized past

Historical Context

  • Ukrainian noble estates underwent major upheaval after the 1861 Emancipation of Serfs
  • Economic pressures on the landed gentry led to widespread property losses
  • Many families like the Bashkirtseffs were forced into emigration patterns
  • The estate symbolizes the broader decline of the Ukrainian-Russian minor nobility

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